Local Business Leaders Honored at Annual Dinner

Tri-County Scholarship Fund will celebrate 34 years of helping financially needy students in Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties at its annual awards dinner on October 19, 2015 at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany.  The dinner will honor Brian A. Gragnolati, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Health System and B.J. Agugliaro, Managing Partner of PwC’s New Jersey office.  The mission of Tri-County is to provide financial support to deserving students to obtain a quality, values-centered education through accredited private elementary and secondary schools.  Proceeds from the dinner fund these scholarships.  Also being honored are Vaughn and Marnie McKoy.  Mr. McKoy is a Managing Director of PSEG, Long Island and Mrs. McKoy is an author and educator.

In May, Mr. Gragnolati took the reins of Atlantic Health System, one of the largest non-profit health care organizations in New Jersey, which includes Morristown, Overlook, Newton and Chilton Medical Centers, Goryeb Children’s Hospital as well as Atlantic Rehabilitation and Atlantic Home Care and Hospice.

Atlantic Health System has made numerous contributions to improving the health of communities, including programs focused on youth.  One of these initiatives, Atlantic Healthy Schools, brings together health care professionals and members of school communities with the goal of improving the health of all students.  This partnership allows Atlantic Health System to share best practices among schools using a network approach, giving schools one-stop-access to a menu of resources and programs provided by Atlantic Health System hospitals designed to help create healthier schools.

At the initiative of Mr. Gragnolati, Atlantic Health System will also begin a program that will introduce the students of the Tri-County Scholarship Fund to careers in health care.  “The students of today are going to change health care in new and exciting ways, and the earlier we can nurture their interest in the field, the sooner they can become the leaders of tomorrow,” said Mr. Gragnolati.

Gregory Floyd, President of Tri-County added: “We are grateful for Brian’s innovative leadership in opening up opportunities for our scholarship students to get an “up close and personal” look at the world of health care and the varieties of career paths it could offer to them.  This is exactly the kind of opening of doors that helps our students envision really bright futures.”

B.J. Agugliaro has more than 25 years in the audit practice of PwC, where he has leveraged his international industry experience in technology, communications and industrial product sectors with his technical industry experience in accounting, auditing and business advisory services.  His strong network of US partners and his many multi-national client experiences have resulted in forming deep relationships with both domestic and overseas contacts in PwC’s global practice.

In 2012, PwC launched Earn Your Future, a $190 million commitment to advancing the financial literacy of more than 2.5 million students in grades K-12.  Since the program’s inception, partners and staff in PwC’s US offices have spent close to 703,000 volunteer hours in classrooms teaching topics such as saving & investing, credit and debt, and charitable giving, impacting the lives of nearly 1.5 million students and educators.  Additionally, PwC has taught at several New Jersey Girl Scout summer camps and at after-school programs including the All Stars Project of Newark, which has contributed to further preparation of inner-city youth entering the workforce.

“Children need a foundation of financial literacy to succeed in the workforce, and in life,” said Agugliaro.  “Through PwC’s Earn Your Future, we have the opportunity to leverage our greatest asset – our people – to use their knowledge and skills to help these children prosper.  We at PwC welcome the participation of TCSF students in these financial literacy programs.”

For the children who receive TCSF scholarships, the results are compelling.  In areas where many TCSF children go to school, the public school graduation rate is below 50 percent.  Tri-County boasts a 100 percent graduation rate and a 98 percent college entry rate.  In recent years, Tri-County graduates have received scholarships to Colgate, Cornell, Villanova, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, UCLA, Columbia and Georgetown, among others.